Women’s Basketball: Terriers Travel to Pennsylvania to Continue Patriot League Play at Bucknell

Featured image by Jackson Shahinfar

By Austin Rayamajhi

Boston University Terriers Women’s Basketball (7-11, 1-6 PL) will travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday to take on the Bucknell Bison (9-9, 4-3 PL) in an afternoon matchup. 

BU has struggled mightily recently. After starting the season by fluctuating between wins and losses, the Terriers have been unable to find a rhythm since conference play began. Their only win in Patriot League play was a nail-biting three point win against American who are currently winless. 

Bucknell has had better luck in conference this season. They are coming off a home victory against Colgate, giving them a sweep over their conference rival. Before this game, they lost on the road in a heartbreaker to current Patriot League leaders Navy. 

The first matchup between these two programs happened when BU moved to the Patriot League in 2013. The Terriers won the first matchup before losing nine straight against the Bison. Their recent matchups have been more even, with the Terriers capturing 6 of their 7 wins against Bucknell in their last 6 years. However, BU was swept last season. 

Bucknell is led by sophomore forward Ashley Sofilkanich. Sofilkanich is a complete athlete, earning All-State honors in both basketball and volleyball in New Jersey during her senior year in high school. As a Freshman, she was named Third Team All-Patriot League and earned All-Defense and All-Freshman honors. 

In her sophomore year, Sofilkanich has blossomed into a star, averaging over 20 points per game and nearly 9 rebounds per game. In their last game against Colgate, Sofilkanich tied a Bucknell record by scoring 44 points. The 44 point figure had not been reached by a Bison since 2003, and this 44 points was also a home record for the Bison. 

BU needs their senior guard Alex Giannaros to turn her season around. Over the Terriers four game losing streak, Giannaros has shot 35% from the field and 27% from three. She is the only Terrier averaging double figures, but has regressed from almost 16 points per game in the early part of the season to around 14 points per game currently. 

Aside from Giannaros, The Terriers are hoping that the contributions from sophomore guard Inés Monteagudo Pardo can continue. After clawing her way into the rotation, Pardo has justified her claim for more minutes this season. Prior to their last game against Navy, the Spaniard scored double digits in three straight games. She currently leads the team by shooting 38.3% from 3 among all players with at least 20 attempts this season. 

The Terriers will face the Bison on Jan. 25th at 2 p.m. in a matchup at Bucknell with the game streaming on ESPN+.